Self-care tips – my favourite ways to put myself first

Self-care is a pretty hot topic at the moment so what is it and why do we need it? To me, self-care is anything I do where I take a step back from all of the pressures of my day to day life and spend some time focusing on me. I’m sure most people know the pressures I’m talking about, my phone goes constantly whether it’s emails, texts, Instagram or WhatsApp, I work, I try to keep myself as healthy as possible, I need to make sure I have 3 meals a day, I have a house that needs looking after, a boyfriend, family and friends who I want to spend time with… the list is endless!

I’m not saying that these things are negative, I absolutely love my life and every single aspect of it makes me happy, but maintaining it all at the same time and keeping the balance just right can be pretty draining (and I don’t have kids to add into the mix either!). As much as society seems to encourage us to be ‘grinding’ all the time and constantly have as many things as possible on the go it’s really not a healthy way to live.

It’s great to be busy, don’t get me wrong, but everyone needs some time off to themselves. I’m sure we’ve all been there when you’ve been working hard for months on end, you might be training hard in the gym, completing project after project, feeling super productive and then it all grinds to a halt. The dreaded burnout catches up with all of us if we’re not careful and it can be a bit of a nightmare.

After working so hard for so long it can feel pretty disheartening to suddenly lose all of your motivation, inspiration and creativity. Once it’s gone it can take a while to come back and, for me at least, that time often involves sitting in front of Netflix for as long as possible thinking about nothing to help my brain recover.

So to avoid burnout and to keep yourself ticking along all year round the best thing I do is take some time for myself every single day. It’s not selfish, it’s necessary. It doesn’t have to be long and it doesn’t matter what you do, but step away from the chaos of day to day and give yourself a break!

To get you started, here are some of my favourite things to do when I’m in need of a bit of TLC:

Cooking – okay so this one might not be relaxing for everyone! I’m well aware that to some people cooking is one of the stressful parts of the day so bear with me here. If you’re not completely adverse to cooking then I think it’s so therapeutic to take a bunch of ingredients and turn them into a delicious meal for you and your loved ones. You don’t have to make anything mindblowing, just pick a meal you love, find a recipe if you need to and see how it turns out. I absolutely love sitting down to a healthy dinner or a new recipe I’ve tried knowing that we’re eating wholesome, home-cooked food because of the effort we’ve put in.

Reading – this might be slightly closer to what people had in mind when I’m talking about relaxation and self-care. I love taking some time to completely immerse myself in a good book and thinking about nothing else for a while. My favourite time to read is actually during my commute on the train! Everyone else is rushing about with their heads buried in their phones but whether it’s getting lost in a fiction book or learning something new with a good non-fiction I love having the opportunity to zone out and concentrate on something else for a while. Also, if books aren’t your thing you can do this with anything, why not pick up a magazine and take some time to have a flick through.

Having a bath – such a cliché but still one of my favourites! After a long day I honestly can’t think of anything more relaxing than running a hot bath, getting out my candles and the bath treats that I seem to get bought every Christmas and only get round to using about twice a year and having a nice long soak. This really is time to switch off from everything! I always find that my best ideas always come to me in the bath when I’m left alone with my thoughts (my boyfriend will back me up with this because my ideas usually cost him money!)

Working out – again I know this might not be for everyone but a workout is honestly such a good stress reliever. Even when I’m super busy and stressed I always make time for a workout to keep me sane. For me, nothing matches the endorphin rush I get when I’ve finished a workout. It doesn’t have to be much and it doesn’t matter what you but get your headphones on, listen to a great playlist and don’t think about anything except the workout.

Listening to a podcast – this is something I do all the time! I think that a big part of self-care also includes self-improvement so a podcast is a lifesaver for me. Whether you’re out for a walk, in the gym or just at home getting jobs done, putting on a podcast is such an easy and digestible way to learn. If you want to know the podcasts I’m loving at the moment, check out my post on my top 5 podcasts!

So there they are, my favourite ways to relax and take some time for myself! Another super speedy tip for you is whatever you choose to do, put your plane on airplane mode so for that short amount of time no one can contact you. Being free of the constant notifications for even a few minutes will help you relax so much more.

I hope these have been helpful for you, if you have any other tips for self-care leave me a comment below!

– Abi x